Reaping of the Shadows: The Armored Stars Saga

Reaping of the Shadows: The Armored Stars Saga - Chp 1

(Author's note: Please leave some sort of comment after you have read this chapter so that I can have some idea of what you think of it.)

Chapter 1

The chilling surface of Taigh-Cuthaich stretched out before Lorgaire. He scanned the surroundings seeking out variances in the heat levels. His ears twitched and ticked at the sounds around him. His darkly scaled skin seemed to float in and out of the shadowy atmosphere, wrapping him in a black lightless cloak. He slowly crouched to one knee and sank the thin fingers of one hand into the thick rich soil, the cold dirt felt wet against his palm; his star metal scimitar held loosely in the other hand, its keen blade reflecting a bleak light on his heat sensitive eyes. The subtle pulse of Taigh- Cuthaich's surface told him that no predator had taken to ground, yet. Lorgaire moved with the grace and ease of his race, the Faireoir Scáth. His mouth, agape, tasted the air around him as he ran from cover to cover. The hair on his skin rose and fell as he ducked and rolled seeking shelter from the open sky. Lorgaire stared up at the outline of Fáinne Solas, the twin planet that shrouded Taigh- Cuthaich in a perpetual darkness. The two planets orbited the same star, though those cursed to be born on Taigh never saw it, but were always reminded of the warmth that must bathe the other planet by the corona rimed in the sky; as they were ever tucked in the shadow of Solas. The tandem orbit of the planets had gained them the moniker twin moons, from the Pontiff; though both planets couldn't be more different, nor their peoples any more foreign to one another.

Taigh- Cuthaish's people were the Faireoir Scath. Blind from birth their eyes, now inky black orbs, had evolved to the lightless domain by adapting the ability to scan for different levels of hot and cold. Their skin was lightly scaled, almost reptilian. With it they had long ago gained the ability to refract light and dark, allowing them to melt into the primal, perpetual blackness of their planet. Air passing over their taste buds would note changes of the chemical makeup, picking up hints of prey. Their ears had developed a hyper sensitivity to the world around them and long ago they had learned that talking only attracted predators from the harsh environment, causing them to speak in hushed and raspy whispers. They wore thin hide armor rather than the thick metal plate mail of the Holy Knights. Over this they bore dark colored fabric that gave them a ghostly wrath look as they moved through the aphotic climate.

Lorgaire slowly turned in a circle reaching out with his senses. He could hear the low growl of the primal cat that had been hunting him sense star shift, shortly after he awoke. It had been trailing him for many hours and was slowly closing the distance. Lorgaire stepped into the deepest shadows he could find and allowed his skin to refract and reflect the light and dark around him so that he melted into nothingness. He slowly turned his blade carefully redirecting the glow of the razor sharp blade until there appeared to be a curving bluish line floating in the air. He waved the blade back and forth like a worm on a hook trying to bait a fish to attack. It struck Lorgaire that this particular fish was a six hundred pound cat that could rip his body into more pieces than he would care to be in.

The corded muscles of the giant cat rippled and tensed. Its eyes watched the swaying line. Its movements were silent as a breeze, as the cat moved closer. It began to scan the area around the blue line that floated in the air. Lorgaire's physical camouflage kept him hidden in the thick black of the dead wood forest. He could hear the heavy breathing of the wild animal. He could taste the cat on the air; its musky flavor coated his mouth like sap from a tree. As the cat moved closer he could hear its large heart pumping a steady beat. The air around them was charged with anticipation, like the moments before the violent explosive lightning storms that dominated the western desert plans.

Suddenly the cat stopped advancing. Its ears flattened and it sunk its massive razor sharp nails into the ground, readying to pounce. A low throaty growl slowly filled the air. Lorgaire slowed the sway of the blade, and griped the hilt of the curved dagger strapped to the back of his waist-line with his other hand. With practiced grace his reversed the scaling of his arm exposing it in clear view of the cat. The feral creature exploded into movement and Lorgaire quickly spun in a circle as he readjusted the scales to disappear again. His scimitar danced in the bleak forest carving thin lines into the hide of the beast. In response it let out a fierce roar, turning to face the direction of the assault, raking and slashing with its large clawed paws.